The label for this fine sauce reads:

Chuk Hell’s Smokin’ Hot Sauce
Smoked Habanero Sauce with Tequila

I was lucky enough to get a jar of this sauce right before we left for ZestFest in September, but hadn’t been able to sit down and put thoughts to paper (or in this case, computer screen) about it. Had I known how much I would like this, time would certainly have been made before now to write this review. The sauce arrived in one of those small jars exactly like the ones we used for our homemade sauce, and it’s just the right amount for a starting batch of hot sauce. Looking at the ingredients list, I saw this:

Ingredients: habaneros, garlic, onion, lime juice, carrots, tequila, honey, apple cider vinegar, salt, black pepper

Not a bad one among the bunch, really. If you’ve read my reviews before, you know that I really dig tequila…so I wanted to see what sort of magic Chuk was able to create using my favorite liquor. Looking at the sauce from the open jar, I saw this:

It’s a smooth, well-mixed sauce with an appealing color and an even more appealing aroma. Although you mostly catch the smoky habanero scent, there is also a distinct element of the garlic & onion as well. The consistency is awesome as well. Unlike some sauces that simply pour right off your spoon and/or food, this has some serious viscosity and clings nicely to anything you slather it upon.

I carried this sauce back and forth to work with me for no less than 3 weeks, trying it on a variety of different foods from the mundane to the mildly interesting. Everything from chili to burger condiment to a french fry dip to a topping for baked/fried/roasted chicken, this sauce performed admirably. A nice aspect of this sauce is that it’s as good ON food as it is mixed IN food, and this expands its utility greatly.

As for taste, there’s a lot to like. The smokiness of the habaneros is well done, and adds an element of taste that many habanero sauces lack. Amid the smoky heat of the habs is the complimentary taste of the garlic, lime, and onion…which are balanced well enough that none dominates over the other. It does taste like there’s a lot of tequila in the sauce, which makes both the heat and flavor linger longer on your tongue and palate than it might otherwise do. The honey in the sauce tempers the heat ever-so-slightly which gives just that hint of sweetness and doesn’t make the sauce too “sticky” as a consequence.

Overall recommendation: If this sauce was poured into a regular 5-ounce woozie, you’d never suspect that this sauce was a homemade one. Yes, it’s that good. It rates highly with me for taste, consistency, and heat…which I would say the heat is about an 8/10 if used in anything more than the most sparing of amounts. It’s smoky like a good chipotle sauce, but with amazing habanero & garlic taste that seems to go well with many kinds of food. If you manage to try some of this, you won’t be sorry. I know that I’d buy some in a heartbeat if I saw it on a store shelf. Hear that, Chuk? I’d buy some. An amazing sauce.

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